Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Ends Year-Rounds Schools

Bell Senior High School Returns to Traditional Calendar

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 18, 2017) - As students and staff celebrated the first day of school this week, there was also another celebration: all L.A. Unified students now attend school on a traditional, two-semester calendar for the first time in more than three decades. Thanks to the taxpayers, the District fulfilled its promise of relieving overcrowding and building neighborhood schools as part of the New School Construction Program.

With the completion of Maywood Center for Enriched Studies (MaCES), students who live within its boundaries no longer will be assigned to Bell, which operated on a year-round calendar for 36 years. The opening of MaCES delivers a state-of-the-art facility and becomes the first Center for Enriched Studies in the Southeast communities, offering an intensive and rigorous curriculum that prepares its much deserving students for a smooth and successful transition to university life and careers.

“The push to make the new school a Center for Enriched Studies is a huge win for the Southeast community because the need for more magnet and middle grades programs came directly from the community,” said Board President Dr. Ref Rodriguez. “The new magnet school offers increased course offerings, comprehensive arts and athletic programs, a digital library, and a wellness center that are open to the students and the community. There is much to be proud of, and we are so thankful to have this gem in our Southeast community.”

“I am filled with incredible joy and pride as L.A. Unified opens the doors to the 131st new school this 2017-2018 school year,” said Board Vice President Mónica García. “We have fulfilled the promise of providing space to learn in neighborhood schools thanks to voters and families that believed in what many saw as impossible. Together we changed the world for thousands of scholars in L.A. Unified. We have led the way but we have more to do. Yes we can get to 100 percent graduation by putting Kids First!”

Due to the impacts of a 200,000-student increase in enrollment between 1980 and 2002 multi-track calendars, involuntary busing and the placement of relocatable classrooms were used as relief measures to address overcrowding. A majority of schools were assigned one of three or four overlapping tracks. That multi-track calendar increased the capacity of the school, for example from 4,500 to 6,000, because one of the groups was off-track at any given time. If the students could not be accommodated at their neighborhood school, they were bused far away from home, for example, from South Los Angeles to available seats at schools in the San Fernando Valley.

To pay for the urgently needed new schools, voters passed several bond measures. New campuses have opened in some of the densest areas of L.A. Unified including the Eastside, South Los Angeles, Pico-Union and the neighborhoods near downtown Los Angeles.

With the opening of MaCES, L.A. Unified has delivered 131 new K-12 school projects to provide students with the opportunity to attend a neighborhood school that operates on a traditional two-semester calendar. The District’s focus is now to modernize and repair its aging and deteriorated schools in an effort to provide equitable facilities for all students.

L.A. Unified officials, elected office representatives, parents, students and community will celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Maywood Center for Enriched Studies on Saturday, September 23 at 9:00 a.m.

“This is not only the celebration of a completed school but the celebration of the completion of 131 of 131 new school projects!” said Chief Facilities Executive Mark Hovatter.